I had heard about Venice and its unique canal-only transportation but I hadn't realized it would be literally all on the water. What a beautifully different city. It brought me back to the wonderful atmosphere Florence had with its small, colorful buildings and piazza-driven streets. It's now about 1AM and I still can't get over how pretty it is here. Once we arrived, we were given an hour to explore and grab something to eat. My friend Sarah and I split a snickers gelato while bumming wifi for a few minutes before heading to join a few of our friends. We were seated canal-side watching the boats cruise by as the waves brushed our feet. Though I had heard Venice had an awful smell to it, I only noticed a stench similar to one of algae every so often. It definitely wasn't the overwhelming, lingering smell that I had imagined. After doing our own thing, we went to the hostel via water "metro". It took much longer than usual public transportation but that's understandable given the nature of driving a boat. After checking in to our luxury hostel, we met a guide for a two hour walking tour that covered most of the city. A few of the highlights that I found most interesting included the actual architecture of the city. The whole city is built on trees that were pushed into the rock below and are placed every 50-60CM apart. Over time, without oxygen, the trees mineralized and turned to stone. The city of Venice is actually made up of 119 islands which are separated by 200 12-foot deep canals and connected by 400 bridges. While walking on the islands, which you don't even recognize as separate islands after a while, you mostly maze through the 3,000 back alleys what rule the city's infrastructure. Our professor told us not to worry if we get lost because you'll find your way back somehow because you're bound to run into water soon enough and those canals will always set you straight. Sarah and I went adventuring on our own after the tour and found the maze to be nothing but a true statement because we were pretty turned around. We didn't have a single obligation the rest of day, though so it worked out pretty well. We had so much fun just seeing what the city had to offer. A lot of the street vendors sold Merano glass, while we'll be seeing a lot of tomorrow in Merano. I'm so sad that we only have two days here. It's such a breathtaking city with the most unbelievable views everywhere you go.
Sarah and I
I literally took two hundred pictures today I couldn't pick which ones to put up.
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